Amid widespread speculation that Chief Minister Revanth Reddy is moving his pawns to arrest former Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao (KCR) in the Kaleshwaram case, phone tapping case or some other case, Chief Minister Revanth Reddy has made sensational comments saying that there is no need to arrest the former Chief Minister and keeps him in the jail.
Speaking to reporters in New Delhi, he described that KCR is already under “self-arrest” at his farmhouse in Erravalli, which he compared to the Cherlapally Central Jail. “The police monitor the prisoners in the jail, similarly there is police surveillance at KCR’s farmhouse as well. Just as visitors come to the jail, politicians also visit the farmhouse from time to time,” Revanth commented.
Revanth Reddy described defeating KCR as his biggest punishment and made it clear that he does not want to do politics of hatred. “Even if we sleep under the blanket, the people will bring us to power,” he expressed confidence. The comments came in the wake of Justice P.C. Ghose Commission report on irregularities in the Kaleshwaram Lift Irrigation Scheme (KLIS), which had held KCR and BRS leaders criminally liable.
However, since the commission could not directly recommend criminal action, the government has suggested further action. KCR’s name also figures prominently in the phone tapping case, in which the police said some of the accused had given statements referring to him as “Big Boss”.
However, Revanth Reddy seems to be cautious about the arrest and has decided to deal with the issue politically. He argued that KCR has already been “punished in the people’s court”, which suggests that he considers loss of popularity a bigger punishment than arrest.
Meanwhile, Revanth Reddy predicted that the by-election to the Jubilee Hills assembly constituency, which fell vacant after the death of BRS MLA Maganti Gopinath, will be held along with the Bihar assembly elections.
Revanth reacted strongly to the BRS leaders declaring that they had achieved a “moral victory” after this vacancy arose. “BRS leaders talking about morality is making morality commit suicide,” he said. Analysts believe that these comments are further intensifying Revanth Reddy’s political attack on BRS.
